PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

I heard today from someone that they changed the Antler restrictions to 3 points on one said for the ENTIRE state. Does anyone know that for a fact , or has anyone else heard that???? might of just been a rumor.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Just a rumor.The only change I saw was that the brow point must be 1" to be considered a legal point.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

if anything the points will increase to 4....but not this year.......this year like jimpic said brow tines must be an inch like all other tines and some areas are 4pt that wernt.....i was just looking figuring venango was 3pt last year it would be this year.....but i was wrong...they changed us to 4pt in most of hte county!! but they have the 4pt rule for a reason.....i dont see them letting off....only making it more strict for the rest of the counties if it comes down to that.........but this year theres 3pt and 4pt areas still....but they go by WMUs this year dont forget.......double check dont assume your still whatever from last year!

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Yea i live in westmoreland county, which is 4pt on one side still. So ill do most of my hunting in 2B other then first and seconds day of rifle when ill be in mcKean whick it 2F. That is 3 on one side.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

I was under the impression that Allegheny County was now under antler restrictions where as last year it was the spikes 3inches etc.

I could be wrong.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

DL55, what part of Mckean County do you hunt? keep in mind that US219 is the eastern border of 2F. 3A is the next WMU over which takes up the rest of Mckean and into Potter County, etc.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

I am hunting on the left half of Mckean. We have a camp jsut outside of Kane and hunt behind it. We also go into warren a lil to hunt some hallows. If u hunt up Around Pauls trading post , or Bobs trading post , or GrayBill Marine , my camp is right in that 7 camp town. But i Took a nice buck there my second year. 9 Pt 16,1/2 inch inside spread . if ur fimaliar with the area, how about some of the names of the hallows.? LOL the locals kill me.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Actually your' re not that far from were I hunt. I hunt up around the upper reservoir from Kinzua. I' ve done a whole lot of ice fishing on Kinzua arm of the res. down 321....Chappel Bay; Kiasutha; Dew Drop; etc. I don' t get in the woods much over that direction, but I' ve driven through there enough times. There' s some good bucks running around in those hills. Did you hunt opening day of rifle up there last year? How' d you like the 18" of fresh snow? The dragging really sucked!;):D

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Yea I fish all around there too , red bridge , my camp is actually on 321. Its the log cabin right next to graybills. Yea i loved the snow , those woods come alive when there is snow. I shot a doe the first morning , and had no trouble gettin her out , she jsut slid nice and easy.But nothing is better then hearing the sound of a herd with atleast 1 buck in it , u just hear the shotts goin form hollow to hollow , if the herd is on the move, and theres more then one deer you know about it. But the ultimate is when u hear that shot form about 100 yards away arond a point , or on the top of the hill , then a few econds later u see em on the run. But i do like hunting up there , and fishing. The south branch of the kinzua creek is jsut about 75 yards behind my camp so i fish there. But have alot more luck on the main branch over by the WestLine bar. But maybe ill see u on the water or in he woods up there sometime.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

The possibility exists that we' ll cross paths!;) I know exactly the cabin you speak of....at least I' ve seen it and know it' s location.:D I don' t get out that way much lately, but I drive out there on the weekends for a " road trip" once in a while. I was up on FS259 hunitng near the powerlines last year on the opener....Jake' s Rock Road was near impassible with all the snow, but I managed. There really wasn' t much pressure, but there wasn' t many guys either. Due to the heavy snow I think. I only had one doe tag left to fill and did that at about 8 am....when the shots cracked down over the hill I got ready and then they came.....;) Ah, the joys of hunting the public lands.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Yea i love hunting up there , such an experience. But my cabin is the only log one between the boat shop , and theres a blue house on the other side of the pines seperating our yard from theirs. I might try an archery hunt or two up there this fall. The only thing is u cant use a stand that will damage the tree. so i might take up a ladder stand , put some towels between the grips andthe bark , and chain that sucker on .

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Public land hunting in PA can be pretty productive. If you are willing to go in farther and earlier than others and stay all day, when the people get up and move around in the late morning things really start happening quick. Can make for some good action.:D:D

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

That is true but you also have to consider where that public land is located in relation to the general population of that area as well as accessability. The SGL that I tend to frequent the most receives quite a bit of pressure because it is relatively close to the 3rd largest metropolitan area in PA and also because there really is not an area of it that is not within 500 yards of road access.

Still, if you don' t mind walking a bit uphill or through some thick stuff then you can generally get away from most of the crowds.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

i agree with the public land and going far......we go about 2 miles..we walk for atleast 30 mins one way.....closer to 40-45 depending on our speed and conditions of the weather......its a hike.....its on the cut game commision trails and gaslines...but still thats a long ways with all the gear....but in 3 years we took 4 does and a 6pt out of it with only hunting it 3 days from daylight until about 9am every time......its a GREAT hole.....if we cared about horns we would both bad decint bucks yearly im sure....biut if its a deer were shooting it.....except this year.....i want a nice buck...but i might not hunt there this year....ill have to see..maybe i can con dad out of his spot and i can sneak into it!! lol....not to many guys go back that far....i mean we see a few.....but not like 100yds from the road!!!!!!we use all them guys coming in off the roads to push the deer to our thicket....it works like magic...........i got my doe lst year beacuse someone tried a 2 man drive......a poster and a driver.....well.....the deer snuck out only to run right by me......full speed....no time to look for horns....but she wasnt faster then me!i heard hte guys saying ya ill sit here you go walk around down htere....i got my gun ready and withing 10 mins i was tagging my deer.....i hope we have snow for hte opener again.....that was great.....it made dragging 3 deer out alot easier!!

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

DL, a lot of guys use a climber or hang on with ladder sticks or something of the sort. I don' t think scratching the bark on a tree constitutes " damage" or illegal activity. There are plenty of guys using climbers and hang ons in the ANF. If it' s " unlawful" then there are many, many outlaws around here. Anyone want to chime in on this??? Any experiences?

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

i was always under the understanding that as long as you dont spike the tree or use screw in steps you were ok.

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Rem, that' s pretty much what my understanding is too. Is there anyone out there with actual experiences?

RE: PA Antler Restrictions change??????
 

Well 2 yrs ago me and my dad were out in the woods awaiting first light on opening day , when a guy and a kid came in and climbed the same tree about 50 yards away . so after first light we left. well after hunting til about 11 we decided to head back for lunch, when we saw 2 game officers coming up the logging trail. They then asked if we had seen the people using a stand also and what area we saw them in. we pointed to the area and said we saw them at light in there. After lunch we were heading back in , and saw the game officers carrying 2 stands back to where they were parked. But i have no idea if they were taking the stands or what, thats why i didnt think u could use a climber or nething. jsut maybe a ladder .

But if anyone has other expierences lets hear em....